Police are appealing for witnessesfollowing reports of criminal damage and theft in Ballymena.
Flags were reported stolen and flag poles damaged at a war memorial in the Queen Street area in the early hours of Monday morning, 10th August.
Superintendent Calderwood said: “This is the second report we have received relating to damage and theft at the memorial in the past three days. The first incident occurred early on Saturday morning when flag poles were broken and flags taken.
“We believe both incidents to be linked and are treating them as sectarian motivated hate crimes.
“I would appeal to anyone who was travelling in the Queens Street/Harryville areas during the hours of darkness on the 8th or 10th August and who may have noticed any suspicious activity or captured dash-cam footage which could assist with our enquiries to come forward.”
North Antrim MLA, Jon Burrows, responded to the damage caused saying: “I am absolutely disgusted to learn that this memorial has been attacked and damaged for a second night over the course of this weekend.
“This is not simply an act of mindless vandalism. It is an attack on a place of remembrance dedicated
to those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War.
“This memorial provides a quiet place where people can sit, rest and reflect. More importantly, it serves as a lasting reminder of the men and women who gave their all in service and sacrifice. Whatever motivates someone to deliberately target such a place, there can be absolutely no excuse for it.
“What makes this even more sickening is the fact that local volunteers have spent weeks giving their own time and effort to clean and improve this area. The volunteers from Harryville and Clonavon Recovery & Regenerate should be thanked for the pride they have shown in their community. Instead, they are now having to witness their hard work being deliberately destroyed.
“To attack this memorial once was disgraceful. To return and target it for a second night shows a level of contempt for our community, for the volunteers who care for this area and, above all, for the memory of those commemorated here.
“Those responsible should be under no illusion about the strength of feeling within the local community. People are rightly angry and they want to see those behind these attacks identified and held accountable.
“I will be speaking with the Police Service of Northern Ireland later today. I want to be assured that the investigation into these incidents will be relentless and that every reasonable effort will be made to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
“If anyone witnessed suspicious activity in the Queen Street area, or has CCTV, doorbell or dashcam footage which may assist the police investigation, I would strongly encourage them to come forward.
“We will not allow the actions of a small number of individuals to diminish the significance of this memorial or the respect that the overwhelming majority of people in Ballymena have for those who served and sacrificed.”
Mr Burrows concluded: “Those responsible may have damaged a memorial, but they will not destroy what it represents. The sacrifice of those we remember deserves dignity and respect, and I know the
people of Ballymena will stand firmly behind those who have worked so hard to care for this important place of remembrance.”
